Fixture for electric lights



FIXTURE FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTS Filed Aug. 7, 1940 l rwmQw-lllw,

G. A. LUTI 2,268,713

Patented Jan. 6, 1942 FIXTURE FOR. ELECTRIC LIGHTS Guido A. Luti, Boston, Mass, assignor to himself, 7 Frank S. Amato, and John Amato, doing business as Metallic Arts 00.,

copartnership Cambridge, Mass, a

Application August 7, i940, Serial No. 351,703

2 Claim.

This invention relates to a fixture for elongated electric lights such as those which are known as fluorescent lights. Such lights are in the form of elongated tubes which are customarily mounted horizontally in groups. These tubes are surrounded by ornamental housings which are adapted to diffuse and distribute the light from the lamps.

It is an object of the invention to improve such housings so that they can readily be swung out of position and be maintained in an out-of-theway position while the tubes are being cleaned or replaced.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawing of which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fixture embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the same, showing the housing swung to an outof-the-way position.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

The fixture shown on the drawing is adapted -to be supported or suspended from a ceiling by suitable support members such as a pair of rods Hi, the lower ends of which are secured to an elongated horizontal support member l2, which, as indicated in Figure 4, may be in the form of a channel beam with side flanges I4 to provide longitudinal stifiness without undue weight. Mounted on this beam is a suitable top plate l5 which with the beam forms a stationary upper member for the housing. Attached to the plate I6 is an elongated sheet member [8, preferably of polished metal, to serve as a support for the lamps and as a reflector. This sheet, as shown in Figure 4, may be bent on longitudinal lines so that its section forms half a polygon. Mounted on the sheet l8 near the ends thereof are brackets which support the fluorescent tubes 22 in a manner well known in the art. F our such tubes 22 are indicated in Figure 4, but it is understood that a greater or smaller number of tubes may be employed in a fixture. The lamps are enclosed in a suitable housing comprising the top plate l6 and a V-shaped trough or lower housing member 24. The latter may be made with a sheet metal frame 25 having large lateral apertures in which are supported suitable windows 28 of transparent or translucent material such as glass or an equivalent. This trough member is also provided with end walls 30 in which there may be one or more apertures 32 having glass windows therein.

It is necessary from time to time to clean or replace individual tubes 22. In order to do this, the lower housing member 24 must be moved out of the way so as to provide access to the tubes within the housing. It is an object of the present invention to mount the lower housing member pivotally so that it can be swung to one side or the other out of the way of the tubes within the housing. It is also an object of the invention to provide locking means by which the lower housing member can be held in either of its out-of-the-way positions, leaving the hands of the operator free to -manipulate the tubes themselves.

To this end, an upturned ear 40 is provided at each end of the top member l2, a corresponding ear 42 being mounted on each end wall 30 of the lower member 24. A pivot pin 44 extends through each pair of ears 40 and 42, the pivot pins 44 being in alinement on a horizontal axis a short distance above the mid-point of the top of each end wall 30, that is, on an axis in the median plane perpendicular to the top member and above the center of gravity of the housing member 24, so that the member 24 is thus able to swing about a horizontal axis without coming in contact with any of the lamps 22. In order to lock the lower member 24 in its normal position or in either of its out-oi-the-way positions, suitable locking means may be provided such as is illustrated in Figure 3. As shown, a bracket 46 is secured to the member l2 adjacent to the ear 40.

This bracket has two upstanding armswhich support a tube 48. W thin this tube is slidably mounted a plunger 50 adapted to project through alined holes 52 and 54 in one of the pairs of ears 4|] and 42. In addition to the hole 54 in the ear 42, two other holes 56 and 58 are provided to receive the plunger 50'. The holes 54, 56 and 58 are angularly spaced about the axis of the pivot 44 by angles of approximately 90, so that when the lower member 24 is swung about 90 in either direction from its normal position, the hole 56 or the hole 58 will move into registry with the hole 52 and will then be in position to receive the plunger 50. The plunger is preferably springpressed as by a suitable spring 60 so that it enters any of the three holes in the car 42 which move into registry with the hole 52. Thus in manipulating the housing, the operator retracts the plunger 50 and swings the lower housing member 24 sufiiciently to move the hole 54 out of registry with the hole 52. When the housing member 24 has been swung through an angle of about 90, the plunger 50 automatically snaps into the hole 56 or 58, thus locking the lower housing member in one or the other of its out-of-the-way positions. As seen in Figure 4, when the housing is rocked so as to bring the hole 56 into registry with the hole 52, the housing is then in such position as to expose the two lamps on the right for cleaning or replacement. When the housing is swung to move the hole 58 into registry with the hole 52, the left-hand pair of lamps are exposed for cleaning or replacement. When the lamps have been attended to, the plunger 58 is again retracted and the lower housing member is allowed to resume its normal position, where upon the plunger enters the hole 54 to lock the housing in such position.

It is evident that various modifications and ch nges may be made in the embodiment of the in ention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

I claim: 4 1. A housing for horizontal elongated electric lamps, comprising an elongated horizontal top member, lamp supporting means secured beneath said top member, and a trough-shaped housing member pivotally attached at its ends to the ends of said top member and rockable in either direction from its normal position beneath the top member about a horizontal axis in the median plane perpendicular to the top member and above the center of gravity of the housing member, and locking means for holding said housing member in any one of a plurality of positions about said axis.

2. A fixture of fluorescent tubes and the like, comprising an elongated horizontal top member, tube supporting means secured beneath said top member, a housing member in the shape of the V-trough supported below said top member, said top member and housing member having at each end upstanding ears and a pivot pin passing therethrough, a locking element carried by one said member and adapted to engage the other said member to lock the housing member in any one of anumber of angularpositions about said pivot pins.

GUIDO A. .LU'IIJ 

